Day 1: Favorite Miniseries or Special

Note: This is a blog series I’ve been wanting to start for a while after seeing it somewhere on Tumblr, so here’s my modified take on it! I haven’t talked about dramas in a while, either — it’s go big or go home, amirite?

Infernal Affairs was the DVD on my friend’s bookshelf that I had always wanted to watch, but never really got around to. There wasn’t any specific reason I had for wanting to watch it, aside from a solid recommendation and being impressed with the accolades it had collected (Leonardo DiCaprio featuring in the American remake was a nice touch, too). That said, I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to watch the 2012 Japanese remake, “Double Face”. I had no idea that I was about to get taken to a dreamworld of tragic.

This was a special that had me emotionally compromised in the first 20 minutes. Did I expect to be so heartbroken by the disarming, puppy-dog eyed Nishijima Hidetoshi snorting coke? NO! And who knew that Kohinata Fumiyo (who generally plays softies and pushovers) could devastate with just one phrase: “I think of you as my real son.” GAH.

Both Odagumi (yakuza) and the police have a “dog” in this game, and despite both of them fighting tooth and nail to come out on top, Double Face is a show without a winner. My heart broke for these guys, but this was such an incredible show, even if you haven’t watched the original subject matter. One of my biggest fears was that the flawlessness the second half wouldn’t be as compelling as the first, but what Sennyu Sousa-hen brought in intensity, Gisou Keisatsu-hen was able to match in retrospection. The slow burn got me GOOD. I applaud TBS and WOWOW for being able to execute this concept as well as they did.

(More) Reasons to Watch: Aoi Yu’s then-new pixie cut, Kagawa Teruyuki kind of not really overacting, Nishijima Hidetoshi’s smile.
Honorable Mention: “Long Goodbye” (NHK / 2014).